Time to stand together against despicable targeting of women journalists

There is a despicable Whatsapp forward doing the rounds about women journalists at NDTV, naming them and outlining how many times they have been married, how they have “trapped” men and how they are carrying on “illicit affairs”. The message ends with the “witticism”: Is this NDTV or Shaadi.com”, a reference to a popular marriage website. It does not matter whether the allegations or “facts” are correct or not. What is worrying is the snide venom that is behind this particular message and such messages in general. Women remain easy targets on social media and women in journalism even easier. The easiest way to attack is of course by sexual innuendo because then it reduces women to one aspect of their existence: their genitalia and/or their reproductive uses.